One Lap, One Rider, One Adventure, One Hundred Miles
The main question in my mind was had I recovered from the efforts of Sleepless? It is hard to get your head around the potential that 4 weeks is not enough for your body to repair itself after such a huge effort. I mean, if it took nearly 3 weeks for the skin to re-grow on my backside, so what sort of state was the rest of me in?
With almost two-and-a-half weeks completely away from any bicycle, I was becoming anxious that Kielder was rapidly approaching and at somepoint I’d have to do something.
It was summer holiday time for Lizzie and I, a full two weeks off work and our only plan was the trip to Kielder right in the middle of our holiday. Fretting (as I do) about a lack of preparation I decided to ride Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and then do nothing for the rest of the week. By Tuesday, I was feeling quite good and seemed to be going reasonably strongly, surprising myself by “worrying” Pinkie’s back wheel up the hills on our Tues night ride… noting that Rhys’s front wheel was never far out of the corner of my eye!!!
Kielder is a tiny wee village in the middle of the forest in Northumberland…Banjo-Country… No mobile phone signal out here!
The village is dominated by a castle that makes a stunning venue for what is sure to be one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world. As the title says, its one lap and one hundred miles. It was first run last year, and in weather that could best be described as “Scottish”, I finished in an uninspiring 12hrs 15mins and It was at last years event where I met Rich Holland and Shonah, Rich beat me by an hour!
The race quickly gained a reputation for “taking no prisoners”, with check points to reach within a certain time and the potential for plenty of weather, the list of entries had more than doubled from last years 200, to an entry list of 750 with 537 people actually taking the start line this year.
This is a serious undertaking, you have to be self-sufficient. There is a list of compulsory kit you must have, a space blanket, waterproof, spare inner tubes, spare brake pads, a whistle, tool kit etc. The little bag that I usually strap under my saddle decided it had had enough as the zip broke. So rather than buying another I decided I’d save weight by taping two spare tubes to the bike and chopped the space blanket in half (more weight saved) so it fitted neatly under my saddle.
A good group of us had gathered for this race and it had become fairly obvious over the last few weeks that there was a large target painted on my back for this one…
Rhys was the obvious challenge, and this would be the first time this year that we would compete head-to-head.
Rich Munro, riding singlespeed was looking for a scalp, I know better than to write-off “PostieRich” especially when he’s singlespeed.
Mark, just back from completing Lands End to John O’Groats, should be feeling strong.
Rich Holland, my Infinity Cycles Team mate, always competitive and 17 years my junior, had he recovered from his Solo effort at Sleepless quicker than me?
Paul Bailey, our “ranked rider”, finished 10th last year, shouldn’t see him for dust!
It was a cold and misty dawn and joining the growing crowds on the start at 6:10am I was really pleased to have Lizzie there to take my fleece just before we rolled-out behind the marshal’s van at 6:30.
This had been a real struggle. I didn’t know whether it was just pre-race apprehension or if I was feeling a bit jaded after such a busy season, but I had really struggled to summon-up some enthusiasm for this race. As the Marshall’s van pulled-off and the race was let loose, it just didn’t kick-in like it normally does.
Rich Holland caught-up with me after 10 miles and we stuck together until he stopped at the first water point to re-fill his bottle. 10 miles later and Rhys had caught-up. I wasn’t chatting much, in fact I felt dreadful. My back had started aching in the first hour and was getting worse, the only thing that was shedding a bit of light in this dark place that I was in, was that it was beginning to look like a sub-ten hour finish could be possible.
The midges weren’t doing much for my mood either! Seemingly a penance for not shaving my legs, but you’d ride through a cloud of them and they’d all jump on-board for a good feast, meanwhile there’s nothing you can do about it other than add it to the growing list of things that just have to be suffered!
I was thinking about the top professional riders, and how they look when they are suffering…. Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, they’ve all got this poker face that barely hints of the pain they’re in. Andy Schleck has this fixed grin, the only indication that he might be trying is the occasional bit of dribble on his chin! Me… well… have a flick back to the “Dawn of the Dead” photo from Sleepless… you could never tell I was suffering could you? Maybe it’s the permanent stream of snot dribbling down my top-lip that gives it away!
Having something to look forward to is always worth having, the organisers had arranged a bag drop at each of the feed stations. My halfway bag had some fudge and a peanut butter and jam sandwich, it also had a couple of the strongest over-the-counter pain killers that I could lay my hands on, it was these I was most looking forward to!
Having already decided to take my time at the half way feed station to eat some food and stretch my back out, about half way through my sandwich I noticed Rhys quietly slinking off. It did cross my mind that I really should not give him the slightest hint of opportunity, but I didn’t want to panic. It was better to finish doing what I was doing, after all I had 50 miles to make-up a couple of minutes difference.
Feeling a bit more renewed after the stop I set-off to chase down Rhys, the next 15 miles were to prove decisive! A fast descent became rocky and the track, made up of loose rocks about the size of Crown Green Bowls. I was going as fast as I could. Speed is a good thing on ground like this until, that is, the rocks get the better of light and flimsy tyres and superlight super thin tubes! With a sharp hiss my back tyre was flat! Cursing my bad luck I set about swapping tubes as fast as I could, of course when you’ve taped the new tube to the bike what do you do with the old one? Err… something that’s not very environmentally friendly (I still feel bad about it now). Rich Holland, closely followed by Rich Munro went past, Munro taking the opportunity to loudly advocate the benefits of tubeless tyres!
All was not lost, anything can happen. I just have to get my head down and push hard. Average speed had dropped to 10.0mph and the chances of a sub-ten hour finish were seeping away. It wasn’t long before I caught and past Munro and Holland, but a short while later the unthinkable happened… Hiss… The air went blue!… there was no catching Rhys now and by the time I’d fixed it Munro and Holland had past again. Rich Holland had asked if there was anything I needed as he went past… good team mate!
By now the red mist had fully descended, average speed had dropped to 9.9mph, Rhys might be gone, but I hadn’t given up hope of beating 10 hours.
A piper welcomed us at the Newcastleton feed station. A good few locals had turned-out to spectate and cheer us on our way. There was hot food and baking and all sorts of lovely treats, but not for me. A brief pit stop to get some proper pressure in my back tyre, some chain lube and away… re-passing Munro and Holland as they enjoyed the food stop.
A fast descent had brought my average back to 10.0mph, it was possible I could do this, but it would be tight. After a lap of the 7Stanes trail at Newcastleton, your on the way home. I remembered well the 10 mile section to the last feed station from last year. What difference a year makes! Last year at this point I had to get off and give myself a proper talking too, this year I’m cranking the Big Ring at 15mph… average clicked up 10.1mph. I was feeling better at 75 miles than I had for the whole of the first 50!
A quick bottle refill and re-stock of Jelly Babies, grab a few jaffa cakes and away, just as Rich Holland arrived, he’s still nipping at my heels!
A long and fast descent and the average clicked-up again to 10.2… I was in with a chance now, it would all hinge on how far over the 100 miles the course was.
As the computer clicked-up 99 miles, I rounded a bend to find the 5 miles to go board… the swines!!! But now on full throttle I discarded all the remaining fluid from my bottles to save a bit of weight. A couple of girls marshalling said something about another mile uphill then down hill all the way to the end… yeah right, maybe the way they came up here in the van! For us it was more torture on the rough-as-hell Kielder singletrack. I confess I am rapidly coming round to thinking that a full suspension rig is going to be the way to go next year!
Finally I got onto the wheel of the guy that had been dangling in front of me for the last hour, we were into the final sections of singletrack before the finish. Struggling to find a way past him, until a few meters of wider track give me an opportunity to sprint past. I fully expected him to be after me but he dropped back, finally rounding the last bend, through the narrow gate with Lizzie, Shonah and Paul all shouting and cheering. Just a short sprint for the finish and I cross the line in 10hrs 12min 10Secs.
Rhys had finished in 10:01:37, without my two punctures that would have been a good battle!
Rich Holland came in 10:20:08, 55 mins faster than last year.
Rich Munro 10:27:11 a superb ride singlespeed.
Mark Williams 11:11:28 obviously still worn-out from Land End to John O’Groats and
Paul Bailey was forced to pull-out early in the race.
Of the 537 competitors that started, 103 abandoned and a further 81 were eliminated for not reaching the check point in the allotted time. 350 finished the race with me 65th overall and 11th in the Veterans Category. This years time was 2hrs 3mins faster than last year… I think you could say a reasonable improvement!
As it has turned-out that was this year’s finale, it’s been a busy year that I’ve really enjoyed… A big thanks to everyone who has helped and supported throughout the year and to all of you who have kept reading the Blog.
Many thanks also to Mark at LEDgend Lights and Dave at Infinity Cycles for all your support and assistance.
I also have to say a very big and very special thank you to my long-suffering Lizzie for looking after me so well, feeding me (constantly), staying-up all night, washing all the muddy kit, and doing all the unglamorous stuff that has kept me going… you’re an angel!!!
So then… 2011, more of the same? Hope so!!!
Cheers
JB
Pics by Joolze Dymond - Thanks Joolze your a gem!
